Characteristics of Fragaria Vesca Yield Parameters and Anthocyanin Accumulation Under Water Deficit Stress
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plants Article Characteristics of Fragaria vesca Yield Parameters and Anthocyanin Accumulation under Water Deficit Stress Rytis Rugienius 1,* , Vidmantas Bendokas 1 , Tadeusas Siksnianas 1, Vidmantas Stanys 1, Audrius Sasnauskas 1 and Vaiva Kazanaviciute 2 1 Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Department of Orchard Plant Genetics and Biotechnology, Institute of Horticulture, LT-54333 Babtai, Lithuania; [email protected] (V.B.); [email protected] (T.S.); [email protected] (V.S.); [email protected] (A.S.) 2 Department of Eukaryote Gene Engineering, Institute of Biotechnology, Vilnius University, LT-10257 Vilnius, Lithuania; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +370-37-555253 Abstract: Plants exposed to drought stress conditions often increase the synthesis of anthocyanins—natural plant pigments and antioxidants. However, water deficit (WD) often causes significant yield loss. The aim of our study was to evaluate the productivity as well as the anthocyanin content and composition of berries from cultivated Fragaria vesca “Rojan” and hybrid No. 17 plants (seedlings) grown under WD. The plants were grown in an unheated greenhouse and fully irrigated (control) or irrigated at 50% and 25%. The number of berries per plant and the berry weight were evaluated every 4 days. The anthocyanin content and composition of berries were evaluated with the same periodicity using HPLC. The effect of WD on the yield parameters of two evaluated F. vesca genotypes differed depending on the harvest time. The cumulative yield of plants under WD was not less Citation: Rugienius, R.; Bendokas, V.; Siksnianas, T.; Stanys, V.; Sasnauskas, than that of the control plants for 20–24 days after the start of the experiment. Additionally, berries A.; Kazanaviciute, V. Characteristics accumulated 36–56% (1.5–2.3 times, depending on the harvest time) more anthocyanins compared of Fragaria vesca Yield Parameters and with fully irrigated plants. Our data show that slight or moderate WD at a stable air temperature of ◦ Anthocyanin Accumulation under about 20 C positively affected the biosynthesis of anthocyanins and the yield of F. vesca berries. Water Deficit Stress. Plants 2021, 10, 557. https://doi.org/10.3390/ Keywords: anthocyanins; deficit irrigation; drought; pigments; temperature plants10030557 Academic Editors: Alfredo Guéra and Francisco Gasulla Vidal 1. Introduction Abiotic stresses, including drought, have detrimental effects on the yield of vari- Received: 19 February 2021 ous crops in different parts of the world, and agriculture in many regions has become Accepted: 12 March 2021 uncompetitive as a result of this yield instability. Predicted climate changes in the near Published: 16 March 2021 future are expected to cause major challenges in modern agriculture due to their significant potential negative impacts on both the quantity and quality of various crops, including Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in strawberry [1,2]. Water deficit is generally associated with a reduction in the size and yield published maps and institutional affil- of strawberry fruits. However, some studies have demonstrated that water deficit might iations. increase the dry matter content, improve the concentration of health-related compounds, and improve the taste of strawberry fruits [3–7]. Declining water resources are leading to concerns about high water usage for some horticultural purposes. Studies to determine the minimum necessary amount of water for crop development are required not only to save water and/or energy, but also to improve plant fitness to resist biotic and abiotic stresses, Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. as well as improve nutritional, functional, and sensorial food properties [5,8]. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article Plants exposed to stress often increase the biosynthesis of phenolic compounds, partic- distributed under the terms and ularly flavonoids, such as anthocyanins. As one of the most ubiquitous classes of flavonoids conditions of the Creative Commons in berries, anthocyanins possess a multitude of biological roles, including protection against Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// solar exposure, and ultraviolet radiation, free radical scavenging and anti-oxidative capac- creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ ity, defense against many different pathogens, attraction of predators for seed dispersal, 4.0/). and the modulation of signaling cascades [9]. Epidemiological and clinical studies suggest Plants 2021, 10, 557. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10030557 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/plants Plants 2021, 10, 557 2 of 11 that an anthocyanin-enriched diet may lower levels of certain oxidative stress biomarkers in humans, and this could be associated with a reduced risk of cognitive decline and the development of neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases, in addition to sustaining hepatic function and kidney protecting activities [10]. Berry anthocyanins improve neu- ronal and cognitive brain functions and ocular health as well as protect genomic DNA integrity. Anthocyanins assist in antiplatelet aggregation, act as an antiangiogenic barrier, and display anticancer properties [11,12]. Anthocyanin composition, as well as that of other flavonoids, has been studied exten- sively in wild and cultivated strawberry [13–18].This notwithstanding, the relation between water deficit (WD) and anthocyanin accumulation is not fully understood, especially in fruit crops, and the potential to increase food value and reduce cultivation costs is not fully exploited. Wild strawberry (Fragaria vesca) is a good model plant for various studies because of its short cycle, small genome, and ease of reproduction [19]. Wild strawberry is a relative of the cultivated strawberry Fragaria × ananassa, which is grown in open fields and greenhouses. The aim of our study was to evaluate the growth and fruiting of F. vesca plants and their anthocyanin content under water deficit in a greenhouse. 2. Results 2.1. F. vesca Yield Parameters The number and yield of berries from fully irrigated control (I100) plants of both “Rojan” and hybrid No. 17 remained relatively stable during the first two weeks of the treatment in April (Figure1a,b,e,f). Later, starting from the fourth–fifth pick, or 20–25 days after the beginning of harvesting, the number and yield of berries started to increase. Berry ripening dynamics were affected by extreme air temperature, which increased to 24 ◦C outside starting on 8 May 2013. The temperature inside the greenhouse sometimes reached 35 ◦C. The rise in temperature accelerated berry ripening and led to increases in the number and yield of ripened berries. This increase was variable and reached a maximum on 20–24 May. The berry size decreased gradually until 8 May. Then, a temporary increase in berry size, especially for hybrid No. 17, was observed (Figure1c,d). This was also clearly a consequence of the increased air temperature. The impact of water deficit on yield parameters was genotype dependent. This impact was much more noticeable in hybrid No. 17 than in “Rojan”. The cumulative berry number of hybrid No. 17 plants grown under water deficit was higher than that of fully irrigated plants for almost the entire treatment period (Figure1b). For 8 days of the experiment, the cumulative yield of 50% irrigated plants (I50) did not differ from that of control (fully irrigated) plants, and their yield subsequently became significantly higher and was the highest at the end of the experiment compared with 25% irrigated (I25) and control plants (Figure1f). The cumulative yield of I25 plants was higher than that of I100 plants until 16 May, which is about two-thirds of the duration of the treatment. During the last 4 days, it became the lowest compared with I50 and control plants. Interestingly, although water deficit significantly (except for 8 May) decreased the average weight of the fruit of this hybrid, for most of the harvesting period, the cumulative yield was higher than that of I100 plants (Figure1d). The cumulative berry number of “Rojan” plants grown under water deficit was also higher than that of control plants for almost the entire duration of the experiment. However, the difference was much smaller than that of No. 17 plants, and at the end of the experiment, the number of berries was the same among all irrigation variants of “Rojan” (Figure1a). The cumulative yield of I50 “Rojan” plants did not differ from that of I100 plants for the entire experimental period. The yield of I25 plants from the 8th to 24th day of the experiment (30 April–20 May) was higher than that of the control, but starting on 24 May, it decreased, and at the end of the experiment, it was the lowest compared with other irrigation variants (Figure1e). The difference in average berry weight among different treatments was also much lower in “Rojan” than in hybrid No. 17 (Figure1c). The berry weight of I50 plants did not differ from that of I100 plants for almost the entire experimental Plants 2020, 9, x FOR PEER REVIEW 3 of 11 Plants 2021, 10, 557 other irrigation variants (Figure 1e). The difference in average berry weight among differ-3 of 11 ent treatments was also much lower in “Rojan” than in hybrid No. 17 (Figure 1c). The berry weight of I50 plants did not differ from that of I100 plants for almost the entire ex- perimental period. Starting on 16 May, the berry weight of I25 plants significantly de- period. Starting on 16 May, the berry weight of I25 plants significantly decreased compared creased compared with that of the control, and it was the lowest at the end of the experi- with that of the control, and it was the lowest at the end of the experiment. This decrease, ment. This decrease, possibly combined with the lack of an increase in the number of ber- possibly combined with the lack of an increase in the number of berries, resulted in I25 ries, resulted in I25 having the lowest yield compared with the control and I50 plants at having the lowest yield compared with the control and I50 plants at the end of experiment.